Thousands of people were said to have lost their lives. It was rumoured that there were hundreds of displaced people, and they thought/it was thought/believed that lots of children had become orphans/been orphaned.

Su vida se había visto destrozada en una décima de segundo.
Their lives had been shattered in a split second.

Había que enfrentarse a obstáculos insuperables para llegar a la zona afectada.
You had to face insurmountable obstacles to reach the affected area.

Yo llevaba varios años intentando quedarme embarazada; pero, tras varios abortos, los médicos me dijeron que tendría que recurrir a otro sistema para tener hijos.
I had been trying to get pregnant for several years, but, after several miscarriages, the doctors told me I should resort to/turn to other ways in order to have children.

Siempre había sido reacia a adoptar niños. Sin embargo, al ver a estos niños sin hogar y quizá, aunque sabía que no era lo más sabio, decidí inmediatamente trasladarme allí y traerme a uno de ellos a España.
I had always been reluctant to adopt a child. However, when I saw those homeless kids, and against my better judgment, I immediately decided to fly there and bring one of them back to Spain.